Roller coaster temperatures are wreaking havoc on indoor and outdoor plumbing, causing more than 30 watermain breaks in London since Dec. 1 and two cold-related apartment sprinkler system failures that caused more than $1-million damage combined.

The London Fire Department responded to about 50 burst pipe calls last weekend alone, a direct result of an unseasonable cold snap with daytime highs into the negative double digits, acting deputy fire chief Jack Burt said.

“The polar vortex temperatures that came in here caused significant issues for us,” he said.

Sub-zero temperatures Friday caused a plastic sprinkler pipe to burst at an apartment and retail building at 34 Covent Market Pl. At least 23 units were affected, Burt said.

The other sprinkler burst on Sunday affected three buildings – 440 Wellington St. and 275 and 285 Queens Ave. – connected with a common corridor, Burt said. A metal sprinkler pipe split when it froze but the ice temporarily plugged the hole, Burt said. When the ice plug gave way it caused significant water damage to parts of the complex.

The Red Cross has assisted 20 people displaced in the pair of sprinkler system pipe breaks, London-area disaster management coordinator Darin Dees said. A hockey tournament in town during the weekend put hotel rooms in high demand, a challenge for volunteers trying to find a place for displaced people, Dees said.

People repair an underground water pipe rupture at the intersection of Wellington Road and Bradley Avenue in London. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press

“We’ve met with everyone who has come forward so far. We have assisted them in whatever way they needed,” Dees said. “We provide the basic needs for the first 72-hours; shelter, food, clothing, medication, things like that.”

Red Cross volunteers also assisted seven people displaced when a pipe burst Friday night at a building in St. Thomas.

People at London’s Wellington Street and Queens Avenue properties are starting to return to their homes Tuesday, Burt said. Residents at the Covent Market Place building will be out a bit longer, he said.

“Water was getting into the walls and behind electrical panels. Electricians have been going in to both buildings and making sure the electrical systems are working properly, making sure everything is dried out so we don’t have additional hazards for shocks and electrocutions,” Burt said.

The destructive flooding caused by burst sprinkler pipes at both buildings should serve as a warning for others, Burt said.

“It’s very important to make sure there’s heat directly in the areas where those pipes are,” he said, adding properly placed heating cables can even be used to keep pipes near exterior walls from freezing.

Above-ground pipes aren’t the only ones keeping work crews busy, said Aaron Rozentals, manager of the water engineering division at city hall.

LANE RESTRICTIONS: Due to a water service leak, both east and westbound lanes are being reduced down to a single lane on Dundas Street between Wellington Street and Waterloo Street. Work may continue through the night and into the morning. Expect delays – https://t.co/Yv98Tfj2UFpic.twitter.com/3i5uj9HJqu

City crews have responded to 19 water pipe breaks in January and at least six more since the start of the month, Rozentals said. Last month’s total is much less than the 28 cold-related breaks the city repaired in January 2018. In a typical year, the city gets about 100 watermain breaks and spends about $1.5-million fixing them.

Fluctuating temperatures like the recent ones in London – from negative-double digit highs several days last week to above-freezing temperatures this week – stress aging underground infrastructure, which is more prone to breaks.

“They’re quite deteriorated. They’ve been through their useful life and as the ground freezes and thaws there’s some movement in the ground and that can be that last little thing that causes it to break,” he said. “They’re not as adept at handling the fluctuations in temperature.”

Rozentals said breaks are more common in older areas of the city – including parts of downtown, Old East Village and Old South – where some underground infrastructure hasn’t been upgraded.

On Tuesday evening, Dundas Street was reduced to a single lane in each direction as crews fixed a weather-related water pipe leak between Wellington Street and Waterloo Street. Lane reductions on the east-west downtown artery will continue into Wednesday.

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